My favorite political watering holes right now

While I’m a fairly avid follower of politics, I generally keep my musings to myself.  With the election so close, I thought I’d record some of my favorite sites, if for no other reason than to give myself a snapshot of what I was reading on this exciting election year.

In general, most of what I follow comes from Andrew Sullivan’s blog.  He states that he is a conservative and yet he values debate and reasoned argument above all else.  He is able to look at his own thinking and examine it in light of new evidence.  His site is really indespensible, especially during this election year.  He airs multiple viewpoints and he is a prolific blogger.  Some days he has over 50 posts a day.  It’s incredible what he has accomplished.  And yet, if he takes a day off (like when he took a break after the Palin pick), it is noticable.  He may be the driving force behind Palin’s takedown this year.

From the Daily Dish, I usually surf over to 538, the website devoted to pooling many of the polls done during the election into a coherent picture.  I am checking this one several times a day.

I just came across a wonderful blog (ala Andrew Sullivan) by two elderly women, Helen and Margaret, who are best friends.  These womens’ observations about this current election are insightful, clear-headed, biting and right on the money.  Their thoughts on Sarah Palin and Elizabeth Hasselbeck are spot on.

I like to read the Huffington Post as well, though I have to be careful there because they are fairly one sided.  I also like to read the other commentators on the Atlantic website and the bloggingheadstv website where various commentators and professors have conversations with each other while recording themselves through their webcams.  There are plenty of other websites like Politico and the New York Times that I visit as well, but the core sites for news and commentary are listed above.

The following video also came from Andrew Sullivan’s website but it was too good to pass up including here.  This is for anyone who plays WOW.

Finally, let me just say that I send my ballot in a week and a half ago.  I’ve been voting for President since 1988, when the first George Bush ran.  While I’ve never voted for a Republican for President, I’ve never been very enthusiastic about the Democrat on the top of the ticket either, even in 1992 with Clinton.  This is the first year where I feel completely comfortable with the man I voted for, Barack Obama.  I’ve read his book, listened to him speak, identified with his upbringing and am humbled by his intelligence and ability to find solutions to problems.  Undoubtedly, there will be times when I am disappointed with him, but I think he is precisely the right person to lead us out of the mess we’re in.  Hopefully, others will agree.